2 Businesses + Same Address = Not a Problem?
-
Imagine someone who has 2 separate businesses with the same (home) address. Both are verified Google My Business G+ pages, each with its own separate website.
Essentially the old business that is being de-emphasized is a guitar lesson teacher's studio. This G+ page is set as a storefront where people come to.
The new business is similar, it is music lessons (private in-home instruction). This G+ page is set to have a service area - this goes along with their new business model.
We all know that consistent NAP is essential BUT do you think these are competing against each other because they share an address even though the businesses are separate?
-
Google prefers local phone numbers that connect directly to the place of business, but in recent times, they have allowed toll free numbers into their system. You can read the guidelines here:
-
We have multiple 800 numbers that point to local DIDs. It is my understanding that a toll-free number cannot be standalone, according to our telephone company. I'd ask your client to find out what DID it's pointing at. A DID is usually a local number. Hope this helps!
-
Thank you for the reply. A quick update, my client just informed me they purchased a new 800 number for the second business (instead of a local number). What are the implications with a toll free number?
-
Hi Rich!
Good discussion going on here, and many thanks to Alick for surfacing an older response of mine. If you can get a local phone number for each business, that will be your best bet against what would be the chief worry in this scenario - that Google will believe this is really just one business promoting itself as two businesses.
I have become less of a fan of suite numbers in recent times, as Google has become more capable of handling multiple businesses at the same location. So, currently, what I would recommend would be this:
-
Assess internally whether this truly is 2 businesses, or whether it is really just 1 business offering both in-studio and remote lessons. I think this step is really important, as the basic product (music lessons) is the same for both businesses and the best-known scenario in which Google has trouble with multiple businesses occupying the same location is when they share an industry or when a single business is trying to branch out its services to appear like multiple businesses. They have gotten better about understanding shared locations (lots of doctors in one building, etc.) but there is a potential for 2 music lesson businesses in the same home being flagged as suspicious. Just like if an HVAC company wanted to represent its heating services as one business and its air conditioning services as another. Google does not support his approach at any time. There may be nuances to the 2 business models of which I'm unaware that make it appropriate to promote this as two companies, but at a glance, to me this sounds like one company with both studio and at-home services.
-
If you determine that there is, indeed, reason to view these as distinct companies, then unique phone numbers, unique websites and unique citations would be the way to go with this ... with the proviso that you have notified the business owner that there may be a measure of risk in this approach.
Hope this helps!
-
-
thank you Vic
-
It is an interesting case here with lots of variables involved. Since your client wants to promote the new business over the old business, why not just get a brand new local phone number for the new business? You can still keep the old phone number as well.
The old number will have the NAP for the old business. The new one will do the same for the new business. Yes - It will be a bit annoying have two phone lines coming into the office physically, but it's doable and manageable.
And let's say your client decides to phase out the old business all together in the future. Then you'd simply forward the old number to the new one.
-
So in this scenario the 2 businesses actually do share the same phone number.
My client wants to promote the new business over the old business.
The 2 businesses are different in one is a music lessons studio on site and the other business is private in-home music lessons where instructors visit homes for lessons.
The thing is Google verified and displays both business listings in the [extended] local map pack. It's because of this fact that I'm hesitant to just delete the older business G+ profile. I do not think they can be merged.
The old business listing ranks well for big search queries that the new business listing doesn't. I'd hate to miss out on visibility for those queries because I needed to delete the listing.
I think that they do not compete against each other, they actually take up more real estate which gives the client a better chance to be found. Think about fishing with 2 poles instead of 1.
What do you think?
-
You bet, Rich. As Alick points out you should also consider these points:
-
It's a good idea to have unique local phone numbers for each business. The attorneys in the example above have that.
-
Can customers actually come there on location and transact business with you?
-
It's probably not going to be doable to add a suite number to your address since you're not in a commercial building.
-
-
Thanks Vic
-
Hi,
I am sharing answer given by Miriam Ellis (a moz staff) on exact query.
"In order to qualify for local inclusion, avoid penalties and prevent merging, your client must be able to answer yes to the following 3 points.
1) Does the business have a unique, dedicated physical address (not a virtual address, P.O. Box or shared address)?
2) Does the business have a unique, dedicated local phone number in the city of location (not an 800 number, not a call tracking number, not a shared number)
3) Does the business have in-person transactions with its customers, either at its own location (like a restaurant) or at the customers' locations (like a plumber)?
If the business does not meet any one of these 3 criteria, it does not qualify for local inclusion. I don't know where your client is at on points 2 and 3, but if they can't say yes to point one, Local SEO will be nothing but problematic for them. Here's why:
If 2 or more businesses share an address, suite address or phone number (or even if their names are too similar), Google will frequently merge the business details of the listings. This means that Joe the Barber can end up with Jim the Plumber's business name, phone number or reviews showing up on his listing. Merging is one of the most difficult issues to deal with in Local, and one to be avoided at all costs.
Here is a Google help file on this issue: http://support.google.com/places/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=175290
Your client's best hope is to:
1. Secure a unique suite number in the building at which he/she works and at which mail can be received.
2. Search for all citations of the business web-wide to correct any existent citations so that they include the new suite number.
You can check full post here @ http://moz.com/community/q/local-seo-how-to-handle-multiple-business-at-same-address
Hope this helps
Thanks
-
A friend of mine is an attorney that shares a law office space (an old house converted into an office) that’s located in a mixed-zone area downtown. If you looked at the address and the physical space, you couldn’t tell it’s a commercial building. There is a small sign that hangs outside of it that says “Law Offices” and has each attorney's name on it. He specializes in personal injury and has his own brand/practice/website. The three other attorneys he shares the space with have their own practices (divorce law, traffic tickets, etc.) They also have their own brands & websites.
All rank pretty well in local search for their respective markets.
In my opinion, as long as both services are unique in what they are offering, having the same address should not be an issue.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Creating multiple GMB listings same address?
Hi Guys, We have a medical centre which has different services like medical, dental, pathology, mental health and 3-4 other services. They are all at the same address within the medical centre. Currently, we have a GMB listing just for the medical centre. But we're looking to create separate GMB listings for each service. I was wondering if anyone has done this before and can speak from experience of the pros and cons of doing this? It seems we will have a lot more GMB listings to manage, but we should benefit more from relevant GMB searchers and this will improve our visibility. Cheers, Mark
Local Listings | | brandonegroup1 -
Google My Business Shared Address Problem
Hi, I have an issue. Our organization shares a church with another organization. Years ago they claimed the address. They have their Google Business category set up as "Religious Organization". About 6 months ago we started sharing the same church with them. We are a total different organization. We now have a verified listing (same address but with STE 100 in it) with the main category being "Church". There are a few issues I am seeing: When doing a search for our address, the icon is the default one, whereas all the other churches in the area show the church icon. Is this because they claimed the original address as "Religious Organization" and because we only have STE 100, even though labeled as Church, Google doesn't see it that way? If you search for the location + church, neither of our organizations show, even after 6 months. They only show if you search for the organization name or address. Could this be because Google doesn't consider this address (therefore both of us) as a church and doesn't show it? Here is our Google local listing and the one we share with. Any help would be greatly appreciated. https://www.google.com/maps/place/1018+Parkway+Dr,+Spring+Hill,+TN+37174/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x8863828b8f17015b:0x59fd9715acc7e144?sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi7h5DCqfbXAhXBc98KHXcyA4gQ8gEIKDAA Thank you!
Local Listings | | vetofunk0 -
Google My Business marker/pin - Do I have control over moving it?
I am working with a country club. We opened the Google my business account and Moz Local. i think the developer/builder of the Country Club planned on the address being in different place than it is today. Do I have control over moving that marker on this massive property. Or, is this done at the city/county level? The marker isn't quite near the building or the true entrance to the country club.
Local Listings | | Joseph.Lusso0 -
What is the best SEO practice for listing multiple locations from the same business online?
Hello! The church I work for is launching its third location and we are needing to figure out what the best SEO practice would be when it comes to to listing all three of our locations online. Currently, we are listing the two locations we have as "Church Name - South Campus" and "Church Name - West Campus." Going forward, would it be better to list our 3 location names as: James River Church - South Campus, James River Church - West Campus, James River Church - North Campus or James River Church South Campus, James River Church West Campus, James River Church North Campus or list all three locations as "James River Church" Thank you for any advice you can give me!
Local Listings | | chris.oursbourn0 -
Would two telephone numbers on a website affect NAP consistency? One is the "actual" business number with Schema, the other is a call tracking number.
Hello! I have two telephone numbers listed on a website - one is the "actual" business number and is utilizing proper schema, while the other is a call tracking number featured more prominently on the site (both in the header and above the "actual" business number in the footer). The code looks like this: New Patients: 999-555-5555 Current Patients: 555-555-5555 Does Google prioritize the "actual" business number because it has the proper schema on it? Or would the call tracking number still be counted and affect NAP consistency for Local SEO? Thanks!
Local Listings | | nowmedia11 -
Local Business Registered at not a real Address
Hi, I am working on local SEO for a client of mine and was interested to hear what will be recommended in this case: My client registered his business in a NYC address, for his own business needs. Can I use this address as a second location for the business? There is a secretary taking care of ALL the businesses listed there, but is not a location that services customers. We don't service customers on site at any location because it's a pickup business to begin with, but we do have a fully functional office in NJ Please don't dismiss this right away, it was registered in NYC and not in NJ and all our information on the web cites this address over our NJ one (obviously i'm working on promoting our NJ one, but that's nowhere to be found on the web).
Local Listings | | Rachel_J0 -
Changing Business Names
Hi All, I am working with a client that is changing its business name and website domain. Obviously, they want Google Maps to display their correct information. I know that in order for this to happen, they will need to do some citation clean-up and update their Google+ Local page, but does anyone have any opinions on the order in which these things should be done? Thanks!
Local Listings | | PapercutInteractive0 -
Problem Shooting with Google authorship
The following two photos show the problems that we are having with setting up our Google authorship. What steps would be necessary to correct these errors? abyP0Vg db4ZOgA
Local Listings | | Dynamo-Web0